Chapter 30 Our HEA
Our HEA
As soon as he was allowed to, Sawyer curled around Cole’s sleeping form and glared at anyone who approached except for the healer.
It might have technically been rude, but I was too relieved to find it anything but comforting.
Sinking into an armchair in the corner, I laid my head back and let my body relax for the first time in days.
There was still risk and plenty of things to figure out, but Hunter was handled. The trauma of the last week eased, leaving nothing but exhaustion and a fierce loyalty to my mates.
Thorne checked in on us, but then had to return to meeting with the pack leadership. He mentioned casually that a number of wolves had fled once they found out that he had defeated Hunter.
After a few hours of treatment to flush out the drugs Hunter had dosed Cole with, he finally roused. His eyes opened groggily. Sawyer’s sharp intake of breath alerted me, and I moved to stand beside the hospital bed.
“Hey,” Cole said hoarsely.
Sawyer’s arms tightened around him, and Cole smiled weakly.
“You had us so scared,” I said, my voice rising.
Cole flinched. “I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Sawyer insisted, the words muffled against Cole’s shoulder.
Chewing on my lip, I settled on the foot of the bed. “We were so worried for you. What did he do to you?”
Cole’s eyes unfocused for a moment but sharpened again. “I had a vision of Hunter hurting Sawyer. Killing him. I was trying to prevent it. I thought I could get Sawyer to leave, but I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“Oh,” I said softly, the sound lost under the animalistic growl rolling from Sawyer’s chest. “That didn’t happen, so maybe you did prevent it. We are all fine.”
“I’m sorry,” Cole said again, breaking, his inhale jagged.
“We’re okay, Hunter is out of power, Thorne is in charge. It’s all good.”
Cole’s fingers hooked into my waistband, dragging me forward. Sniffling, I curled over him, balancing on the edge of the tiny bed already filled with two tall and muscly werewolves.
Going purely off animalistic urges, I nuzzled against his neck, on the side not bandaged. His arm tightened around me, pressing me tighter against him.
This was how Thorne found us a time later. He came in, spoke quietly with the nurse and then roused us.
“We can go back home now, to our cabin. Are you good to walk, Cole?”
It took a few minutes to make our way back to Cole and Thorne’s home, as Cole was still slow and shuffling, and none of us was willing to let each other go.
Hands clasped, arms wrapped around each other, we stumbled through the hallway, out the back of the pack house, and through the trees to our home.
It felt like home, and maybe that was trauma bonding, but my heart leapt when we walked back inside, all four of us for the very first time.
“We’re going to need a bigger bed,” Thorne mumbled.
We made a trail of exhausted ducklings after Sawyer as he led Cole to his room. All four of us made a tight fit in the king bed, and the sun had hardly set, but Cole needed sleep and the rest of us couldn’t bear to leave his side.
Sawyer curled around Cole’s back, nuzzling into the nape of his neck, as I nestled against his chest, Thorne fitting against my back. We stayed like that as dusk turned to night.
Cole and Sawyer slept, but I needed a bathroom and food. As I tried to wiggle away, Thorne shifted, climbing off the bed to give me room.
“I’m hungry,” I whispered.
Silently, he nodded, placing a soothing hand on my lower back as we slipped out of the room. Our bare feet were silent over the scratched wood floors on our way to the kitchen.
A long sigh left my lungs as I turned to lean against the kitchen counter. “I’m so fucking relieved, I can’t even imagine how you feel.”
Instead of answering, Thorne eased me onto the counter and pressed between my legs, wrapping his arms around my ribcage and burying his face in my chest. My ankles hooked at his lower back as I squeezed him tightly against me.
“You were perfect,” I murmured. “I knew everyone would follow you.”
He let out a humorless laugh. “It turns out, when you’re selfish and abuse your packmates at every turn, they’re not very keen on loyalty. Mia and James were right. Most of the pack was thrilled to name me the new alpha.”
“I’m not surprised,” I said, leaning back so I could look into his eyes.
Expression darkening, Thorne chewed at his lip. I waited, letting him work through his emotions. Finally, he cleared his throat.
“I really thought for a moment I would have to kill my brother. And as much as that scared me, I was willing to do it.”
“That’s okay,” I hummed. “It says a lot more about you than him. He was so shitty, but you still didn’t want to harm him.”
His lashes fluttered closed, and he leaned into me, letting my words wash away the sting.
“You’re a good leader, and a good mate,” I reassured him. “And everything worked out fine. We’re safe.”
Slowly, tentatively, he brushed his mouth against mine in a testing, teasing kiss. I squeezed my thighs over his hips, dragging him against me tighter, so his next kiss was firmer.
This wasn’t the same raging desire that usually lit between us. It was pure comfort. My fingers threaded into his hair, my lips moving against his over and over.
Finally, we broke apart, his lips swollen and eyes glassy.
“I can feel your hunger, Vixen.” His smirk looked tired. “Don’t judge me, but I’d like some easy comfort food.”
“And what would that be?” I arched an eyebrow as he pushed off the counter and moved to the pantry.
The muscles of his back and arms flexed deliciously as he reached up to retrieve a couple of cans in bright red-and-green lettering.
Laughing softly, I watched him empty the canned ravioli into bowls and pop it into the microwave. “I haven’t had that in years.”
“I said don’t judge me,” he reiterated, his smile brightening. Handing me a bowl and a fork, he leaned against the counter beside me. We ate in silence, and I had to admit it tasted better than I expected. The warm carbs soothed my stomach after the turbulent day.
“Alright, we should go back in there now that it’s actually bedtime.” Cocking my head, I took in the sight of Thorne, his expression transitioning slowly from resigned to peaceful, as the events of the day settled around us.
My mate turned, leaning forward to kiss me again. I tasted the sweet tomato sauce on his tongue. Sighing, he said, “I’m so glad you’re here. I know we had a rocky start. I’m so grateful you stuck with me. I can’t imagine any of this without you.”
“Me too,” was all I could manage, blinking away the sting in my eyes. There had been way too much crying already over the last few days. Biting my lip, I glanced up at his stitches across his forehead.
He offered his hand to help me down. In the dim light, his stormy eyes were almost black.
The stillness of the room pressed in around us. It was the first time we’d been together where no one was chasing us. No crisis threatened. We were safe.
Threading my fingers through his, I kept my hold on Thorne, pouring my affection and gratitude through our bond as we returned to the bedroom and finally surrendered to sleep.